Draft-gear for railroad-cars.



PATENTED 00T. 18, 1904.

v f No. 772,370.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 23. 1904.

2 SHEETBTSEEET 1.

N0 MODEL.

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H. M. PFLAGER.

DRAFT GEAR POR. RAILROAD GARS.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 23. 1904.

N0 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented October 18, 1904.

PATENT OEEICE.

HARRY M PFLAGER OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

i DRAFT-GEAR FOR RAILROAD-CARS- SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 772,370, dated October 18, 1904. Application filed May 23, 1904. Serial No. 209,349. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRYv M. PELAGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented a new and usefull'mproveme'nt in'Draft-Gear for Railroad-Cars, of y:which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in that class of draft-gear for a railroad-car in which the draw-bar with its follower-plates and draft-springs is combined directly with the body-bolster without the use of draw-timbers and separate housings for the springs with their respective fastenings, and has for its object to simplify the construction of Vthe draft-gear and to insure a uniform distribution of the tensional and bufng or compression strains of the draw-bar through the bolster and thence to the entire series of car-sills.

The invention consists in features of novelty as hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings', forming part of this specification, whereon- Figure 1 is a top plan of lmy improved draftgear as applied to a car-body bolster; Figs. 2 and 3, front and rear side elevations ofthe bolster as seen transversely to the car-sills from the right and left, respectively, in Fig. 1, omitting the'draft-gear; Fig. 4, a horizontal section through the draft-gear and combined body-bolster on line 4 4 in Figs. 2, 3, and 7; Fig. 5, a transverse section through the draw-bar on line 5 5 in Figs. 1 and 7, showing the middle portion of the bolster combined therewith in elevation corresponding to Fig. 2; and Fig. 6, an inner end view of the draft-gear, showing the combined middle portion of the-bolster in elevation corresponding to Fig. 3; Fig. 7, a vertical longitudinal section through the bolster and draftgear, partly in side elevation, on line 7 7 in Figs. 1 and 4; Fig. 8, a similar view to Fig. 4, showing a modification of my invention; and Fig. 9, a horizontal section' through the middle portion 0f the bolster corresponding to Fig. 4, omitting the draft-gear.

Like letters and numerals of reference denote like parts in all the figures.

a is the car-body bolster, which in the present case is preferably made of cast-steel integral throughout and secured to the car-sills (shown by broken lines in Fig. 1) by bolts, (not shown,) which pass through the holes c in the bolster a and through the sills of the car-body in the usual well-known manner.

d is the draw-bar, having a suitable head 1 and knuckle 2, supported at their front p0rtions, respectively, by carry-irons 3 and 4. The draw-bar UZ is formed or provided at its inner end, preferably at right angles to each side thereof, with an outwardly-projecting flange 5, from the outer upright edge of which an arm or tension-bar 6, preferably integral with Athe iiange 5, projects rearward from and parallel to the longitudinal center line of the draw-bar d, orin lieu of the integral arm 6 a tension-bar, such as a bolt,

separate from but engaged by the flange 5 may be used, as hereinafter more particularly i referred to. The two tension-bars 6, whibh are horizontally opposite to each other and preferably equidistant from the said center line, are adapted to slide through two corresponding openings i 7, formed transversely through the upright web or member 8 of the bolster a at an equal distance, respectively, from the vertical center line of the latter.

Transversely through the web or member 8 of the bolster a, and preferably integral therewith between the openings 7, are formed two horizontally opposite and parallel openings (preferably cylindrical) 9, which are open at their ends and equidistant from the center of the bolster a. Within and -projecting beyond the ends of the openings 9 are arranged the usual draft-springs 10 11, between the front ends of which and the flanges 5 of the draw-bar Hand abutment hereinafter described) is placed they front follower-platel of the slotways 14 normally bear against the rear edge of the key e, while their opposite or front ends are at a suitable distance clear of the front edge of the key e, as seen in Fig. 4, so as to allow free play to the arms 6 in riding over the key e, which remains stationary or in its normal position, as seen in Fig. 4, during the backward or bufing movement of the draw-bar al.

The front and rear edge portions (or thereabout) of the top flanges or member 15 of the bolster a, immediately over the draw-bar d, are formed with depending ribs or webs 16 16, respectively, and the corresponding portions of the bottom lianges or member 17 of the bolster a with similar depending and upwardly-projecting ribs 18 18', the front ribs 16 18 being united in the middle by an upright piece 19 and overlapping the front follower-plate 12, to which they form the abutment. The rear ribs 16 18', which overlap and form the abutment to the back foli lower-plate 13, are united in the middle by a rearwardly-projecting U-shaped brace 20, which straddles and allows free play to the key e when receded by the back followerplate 13 on the recoil of the draft-springs 10 11 in the operation of the draft-gear.

For maintaining the horizontal position of the draw-bar d during its forward and backward movement the front ribs 16 18 are formed with forwardly-projecting horizontal lips 21 22 of suitable size and having their opposite faces, between which the draw-bar 0l (adjacent to the lianges 5) rides, flush with the edges of the ribs 16 18.

In operation when pulling on the draw-bar Z the key e and back follower-plate 13 are drawn forward by the arms or tension-bars 6, and. in so doing compress the draft-springs 10 11, which force the front follower-plate 12 against the overlapping front ribs or abutment 16 18, by which the strain is transmitted through the bolster a uniformly to the entire series of car-sills whereas in the ordinary arrangement of draft-gear the tensile strain of the draw-bar is taken by the draw-timbers and thence through their fastenings to the middle car-sills only. In the buflng operation of the draw-bar d the front followerplate 12 is pushed rearward by the lianges 5, so as to compress the springs 10 11, and thereby force the back follower-plate 13 against Athe rear ribs or abutment 16 18' and thence through the bolster a to the entire series of car-sills b. For preventing excessive compression or closing of the draft-springs 10 11, the surrounding margins or end edges of the openings 7 and 9 project for a suitable distanceffrom each side of the upright member 8 of the bolster t and form stops to the follower-plates 12 13 when the limit of compression allowed to the draft-springs 10 11 is reached.

In the modification of my invention (seen in Fig. 8) the arms 6 and openings 7 are replaced by bolts 23, the heads 25 of which bear against the front sides of the flanges 5 of the draw-bar CZ, the bolts 23 passing through the draft-springs 10 11 and follower-plates 12 13 and adjustably tightened against the rear face of the back follower-plate 13, preferably by nuts 24, or, if desired, a key d, similar to the key @between the arms 6, as beforedescribed, may be substituted for the nuts 24, as indicated by broken lines.

By this invention the draw-timbers and their fastenings, which are a source of weakness and failure, are avoided and the construction of the draft-gear simplified. Moreover, by the double sets of draft-springs'lO 11, arranged as described, more or less lateral play is allowed to the draw-bar d when rounding curves or otherwise subjected to irregular strains.

I do not limit myself to the particular form and material of the bolster a, described and shown on the drawings, as the same arrangement of draft-gear can be applied to other forms of body bolster by modifying the parts thereof accordingly.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In draft-gear for a railroad-car, the combination with the car-body bolster, of a drawbar having a suitable head and coupler, and having lateral flanges at its inner end, a tension-bar extending from each of the said lianges and slidable through the bolster transversely thereto, draft-springs movable in, and extending through openings formed transversely through the bolster, a key extending between, and engaged by the tension-bars, a front follower-plate opposite to one side of the bolster, between the draft-springs and the said flanges, a back follower-plate opposite tov the other side of the bolster, between the draft-springs and the said key, ribs projecting from the top and bottom members ofthe bolster, and means for securing the bolster to the car-body, the said ribs overlapping the said plates, and forming abutments thereto, substantially as described.

2. In draft-gear for a railroad-car, the combination with the car-body bolster, of a drawbar having a suitable head and coupler, and having lateral lianges integral therewith at its inner end, a tension-bar extending from and integral with the said flanges, the said bars being opposite t0 eachother and slidablethrough the bolster transversely thereto, draft-springs movable in and extending through openings formed transversely through the bolster', a key extending between and engaged by the tension-bars, a front follower-plate opposite to one side of the bolster between the draftsprings and the said flanges, a back followerplate opposite to the other side of the bolster,

IOO

ITO

to this specification :in the presence of tWo subscribing Witnesses.

HARRY M. PFLAGER.

Witnesses:

G. L. BELFRY, EDWARD W. FURRELL. 

